[Jim Reynolds]

My daugther leaves for college in the fall and my wife and I are going back and forth as to which to give her.The desktop won't get stolen but it isn't very portable and my wife is concerned that with the constant opening and closing of the laptop that it won't make it through the 4 years.Anyone gone through this? Thanks,Jim

[Tekara]

I would only get a laptop if there's plans of using it in class. in my personal experience, being a college student, i have yet to find a class where's it's been useful to to type up something on the laptop, matter of fact, only times I've seen a laptop in a lecture the kid was using it to watch simpsons episodes.

so I'd go with the desktop, it's less expensive, easily upgradable, tends to be more powerful and has more storage (face it she's gonna use the bandwidth and freedom to DL music and such off the net ) and if size is an issue there are great solutions (flat LCDs and the shuttle cases).

my 2cents

[Michael*K]

I'd recommend the laptop, definitely. Even if she never brings it to class, it's good to have the freedom to move it anywhere she wants. What if she has a doofus roommate and wants to get out of her dorm to get research done? And today's campuses are set up with wireless connectivity, so she can probably tap into the Net from the library, student union and maybe even the classrooms. Plus, the laptop will take up a lot less room...important in dorm rooms where space is at a premium. As for how rugged they are, I have a four year old laptop that was basically used as a desktop replacement. It's survived thousands of openings and closings without the hinge breaking. Heck, I've even dropped the thing a few times with no adverse results. Of course, it is an Apple laptop. Don't know how the quality of PC manufacturers would stack up. Not very favorably I would imagine.

There was a recent topic on desktops versus laptops in After Hours. Find it here.

[JamesHl]

Laptop. The main reasons for upgrades and what have you is for games, and she should be studying, no? I take notes in class using textpad.

As long as it's treated reasonably it should last 4 years. Mine has lasted a year with me...

If you're going pc, go with a dell. If you like macs, obviously a powerbook would be the way to go.

[Eric_L]

I had an 8088 laptop (I date myself) and it was a godsend. This was in the days before widesread internet use though.
I loved being able to carry it to the library. It was way easier than carrying 40 lbs of books home from the library.

Make sure to get a subscrpition to Mcafee.com for antivirus.

[JamesHl]

So you're saying your 8088 laptop was lighter than 40 lbs? Amazing!

Seriously though, my friend had a 286sx laptop that easily weighed 20 lbs...

[Mathew Shelby]

Laptop. Definitely. I am graduating from Florida State this year and since freshman year I have been typing notes in class and then selling them to varioud organization (fraternities/sororities/private dorms) who then resell them to their members taking those classes. I get $10 a class which meets three times a week and I am taking four classes. There is potential to make some profit here, just for being a good notetaker. Also, tell her to ask the professor if a notetaker is needed. The university is authorized to pay student notetakers for their notes if a disabled student is taking a particular course.

[Kimmo Jaskari]

Laptop, for all the reasons mentioned. You can usually get an optional docking station and hook up a real monitor and keyboard to that so she'll have a desktop-like workarea at home but can take the laptop with her as well. This will also cut down on the need to open and close the laptop, although I doubt hinge problems will be the first to show themselves if there are problems.

If it's supposed to last 4 years though you'd better be looking in the top end of the spectrum for laptops today or else it will be hopelessly out of date later. Something with plenty of memory (512MB or more), big hard drive and a good screen with decent resolution.

Built-in wireless networking wouldn't be a bad feature either, come to think of it.

[Bill Slack]

I'd get her a ~$1k laptop now, and a ~$1k laptop in 2 years. But having a laptop is great for group projects and studying away from the dorm room. Maybe something, these days, could last 4 years alright, considering Office and Windows aren't exactally taxing machines so much anymore. But, I've said the same thing in the past...

I had both (we were required to have laptops... back in 1997.. woah!)... 'rents bought the laptop (thanks, ma!) and I bought the desktop for myself.